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Apple Outrages Users By Automatically Installing U2's Album On Their Devices

Posted by samzenpus on from the do-not-want dept.

Zanadou writes "Apple may have succeeded at breaking two records at once with the free release of U2's latest album, titled Songs of Innocence, via iTunes. But now, it looks like it's also on track to become one of the worst music publicity stunts of all time. Users who have opted to download new purchases to their iPhones automatically have found the new U2 album sitting on their phones. But even if iTunes users hadn't chosen automatic downloads, Songs of Innocence will still be displayed as an "iTunes in the Cloud" purchase. That means it will still be shown as part of your music library, even if you delete all the tracks. The only way to make the U2 album go away is to go to your Mac or PC and hide all of your "iTunes in the Cloud" purchases, or to use iTunes to manually hide each track from your purchased items list. Other reactions include rapper Tyler, The Creator saying that having the new U2 album automatically downloaded on his iPhone was like waking up with an STD. Update: 09/16 15:06 GMT by T : Note: Apple has released a fix.

14 of 610 comments (clear)

  1. It's not your phone by Catamaran · · Score: 5, Insightful

    If you buy a product from Apple, it's not really yours. Oh, you own the lump of hardware, but the apps, the content, the OS? No, you do not own any of that.

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    Test 1 2 3 4
    1. Re:It's not your phone by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Insightful

      " the problem is with the account, not the product. "

      It is a product problem. It seems that many people were happy with products they purchased (a deliberate act) being automatically downloaded.
      They are less happy with something thrust upon them without consent.

      Apple could have easily made the cost zero for any existing accounts and allowed people to chose to "purchase" it, and the problem wouldn't have occurred.
      This is Apple using an existing product in a new way, beyond customer expectations.

    2. Re:It's not your phone by jandersen · · Score: 5, Insightful

      There may all sorts of good reasons for why it has happened and why it isn't an evil conspiracy to pollute the minds of young people, but it misses the point, really.

      Happily, I don't own a smartphone, but I think I would have been rather annoyed too. It's like being spammed or getting a huge wad of unwanted advertising in garish colours through the door - it's something you never asked for and wouldn't have wanted if you had been asked, it's simply inflicted on you and you now have to do something to get rid of the useless crap. At the root of this lies the feeling that you're not being given a choice, because your opinion doesn't matter, and whoever makes the decisions thinks you are just a mindless automaton who will go out and spend money on whatever the loudest advert tells you.

      In the end, it's about respect: you show respect to earn respect. But if producers of eg. music don't respect their potential customers, why should people respect them back? Particularly, why respect the copyright they claim ownership of? I don't condone piracy, but I do understand where it comes from.

  2. I've been on data roaming since last Monday... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Interesting

    If this album is 100 Mbytes at AT&T's roaming price of $19.95 per megabyte, this is going to cost me $1,995. The album is on my phone so I hope it downloaded over a week ago! If not, I'm screwed because this is a work phone. They were fine with me checking email a few times the last time I traveled, but that was only $45 in overage fees. This is going to be very profitable for AT&T and other providers.

    1. Re:I've been on data roaming since last Monday... by JaredOfEuropa · · Score: 5, Insightful

      You can control the timing of your downloads. Turn off data roaming, which is a good idea on any smartphone if roaming charges are excessive. You can disable automatic downloads of music and other content. But most importantly: you can choose whether or not automatic downloads occur over the cellular network (roaming or not); the default setting is to disallow this.

      Apple was a bit naughty by pushing an album we didn't ask for, but that's all it is: well-intended spam. No need to be overly dramatic about Apple owning our devices, and no worrying about racking up insane roaming charges.

      --
      If construction was anything like programming, an incorrectly fitted lock would bring down the entire building...
  3. Whiners by mrbcs · · Score: 5, Insightful

    It downloaded over wi-fi on my phone.

    I had to actually start my download because I turn OFF THE ABILITY TO AUTOMATICALLY DOWNLOAD!!!

    I swear, the more technology we get the dumber people become. Stop yer damn whining and delete the FREE ALBUM.

    --
    I'm not anti-social, I'm anti-idiot.
  4. +1 for this comment by Calibax · · Score: 5, Informative

    It took me all of 5 seconds to hide the album in iTunes. All gone, I'll never see it again (unless I choose to unhide it).

    Such a hardship.

    1. Re:+1 for this comment by spire3661 · · Score: 5, Insightful

      It should have never been added to my personal library in the first place. THAT is the issue, something being placed into my library that i did not ask for. Its a huge 'fuck you' to the users.

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      Good-bye
  5. could have been worse... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

    it could have been nickelback....

  6. Re:911 was down for us Friday night by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Insightful

    If your Mac is running out of hard drive room from downloading a single album, I think the album is probably the least of your problems.

  7. Re:First world problems. by mwvdlee · · Score: 5, Funny

    Complaining about other people having first world problems.... where does that rank?

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    Slashdot social media options: AIM, ICQ, Yahoo, Jabber and Mobile Text. Why no MySpace?
  8. Re:First world problems. by spire3661 · · Score: 5, Insightful

    I want my libraries to contain stuff I CHOOSE, not stuff chosen for me. This a going to become an ever increasing problem as companies like Apple want the store and player blended so you always have opportunity to buy something.

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    Good-bye
  9. Re:First world problems. by Lumpy · · Score: 5, Funny

    Count yourself lucky.... it could have been a nickleback album.

    --
    Do not look at laser with remaining good eye.
  10. Re:First world problems. by beowulfcluster · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Having "auto download" turned on has been perfectly fine for non idiots who've managed their library themselves until this unexpected meddling by someone else. Now, of course, the non idiots will have to turn what they might have felt was a useful feature off since we've learnt that Apple will be using it as a promotional tool.